2014 Drive Car of the Year: Best City Car

While small in stature, the City Car battle was a heavyweight bout in many respects.

The defending champion Mitsubishi Mirage ES was up against a trio of the biggest names in this segment in 2014 - the all-new Mazda2, Honda Jazz and Volkswagen Polo.

The Mirage remains one of the best city cars on a budget because, while there may be some compromises, the $13,490 starting price and fundamental offerings of the little Japanese machine make it a tempting first car prospect.

"It's strength is its price," said one judge. "You can't complain if you only had $13,490 to spend. It does all the standard stuff."

Indeed the standard stuff is all there and it does a good job for the money. The 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine isn't the most powerful here, with just 57kW and 100Nm, but it is the most fuel efficient using just 4.6-litres per 100km; and when you're motoring on a budget that makes a big difference.

The judges thought the handling during the dynamic testing was adequate and predictable but noted it was severely limited by its tyres.

The Mirage also lost points for the lack of standard equipment including cruise control, reversing camera, parking sensors or reach adjustable steering.

That wasn't an accusation that could have been levelled at the Honda Jazz VTi. It comes well equipped for this end of the market with a large touchscreen infotainment system that includes a display for the standard reversing camera.

The Jazz also earned praise from the judges for its interior, both in terms of packaging and visibility.

"It's got the cleverest interior," said a judge.

Despite retaining the same external dimensions as its rivals the space inside the Jazz, particularly the rear seats was bordering on small car sized.

Although the engine looks good on paper, in the real world our testing highlighted some minor flaws.

By combining the 88kW 1.5-litre engine with a CVT gearbox calibrated for an urban, stop-start environment it limits the Jazz to being just a city car. The judges found it lacked the performance of its peers on the open road, which could limit its appeal.

The engine and gearbox combination was also criticised for its lack of mid-range shove. After strong initial acceleration some of the judges felt the engine ran out of puff too quickly.

Fuel economy of 6.2L/100km also cost the Jazz points, making it out of step with many of its rivals in the marketplace.

The same can't be said for the Volkswagen Polo 66TSI Trendline which uses just 4.8L/100km from its state-of-the-art 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The Polo is not only a previous city car category champion it is also a previous Drive Car of the Year overall winner. That was because it raised the bar in what you expected from a city car.

No longer did they just have to be cheap transportation, the Polo, with its small car build quality and ride and handling balance, proved that smaller doesn't have to equal less.

This latest generation Polo continues that trend. The engine is an absolute gem, arguably the best in the segment. It belies its modest power output of 66kW by producing a respectable 160Nm of torque from just 1400rpm. That gives the Polo the kind of performance you expect in a larger car.

"It's a lovely little engine," was how a judge summed it up.

Of course, it doesn't come without a cost, and in the case of the Polo that is a literal cost. Not only does it start at a relatively high $18,790 it also requires a diet of more expensive premium unleaded petrol.

And despite that it comes without some niceties you would normally expect for that price in this segment - notably alloy wheels and a reversing camera - which cost it points with the judges on the value front.

The base-level Polo also failed to impress the judges with its interior. Not only was it tight on space in the rear the design was labelled "bland" by several judges.

Bland is not a word that can be used to describe the interior of the new Mazda2, especially the Maxx model we tested which was fitted with the optional $250 Colour Pack.

Although several judges already rated it the best interior presentation on any current Mazda model, the colour pack added red and white high-gloss trim highlights to the t-bar dashboard and round air vents. One judge went so far as to remark "I don't think they'll sell any Maxx without the colour pack" and another called it "Audi-like", underlining how much the option did to lift the cabin presentation.

But style wasn't the only strength of the new 2. Mazda has clearly learned from the previous generation Polo and designed this latest city car to look, feel and perform more like a small car, whilst still retaining its compact dimensions.

"It's a city car you can take anywhere," said a judge.

The Mazda2 earned praise for its comfort on the road and dynamic ability during on-track testing.

The engine was also praised for its performance and fuel economy, as well as its ability to run on regular unleaded.

It wasn't all positives though, with the lack of rear seat space coming in for criticism from the judges and its price puts it near the high end of the city car market.

Despite such a strong field, when the votes were tallied there was a unanimous winner - the Mazda2 Maxx.

The new Japanese offering thoroughly deserves its victory. It blends city car size, with small car performance and comfort. Added to that its modern style and strong value argument made it the judges choice.

The Polo earned second place ahead of the Jazz with its superior on-road dynamics helping it earn the judges' praise.

The Mirage, meanwhile, not only lost its crown but crashed to last place in the category. But given the strength of the competition in 2014 there were no real losers in this heavyweight contest.